Self Report, Questionnaires, Interviews

Question 1

what is an interview?

Answer 1

• method of gathering data through asking questions
• involved conversational exchange between interviewer and one or more other individuals
• useful in gathering detailed information and enabling flexible approach to questioning

Question 2

what is an unstructured interview?

Answer 2

• less rigid
• interviewer may have some idea of the issues they want to explore
• questions not decided in advance
• questions form tend to be result of previous response given

Question 2

what is meant by interviewer effects?

Answer 2

• may cause different responses
• the effects the interviewer has on the participants in the interview

Question 2

what is a semi-structured interview?

Answer 2

• some prepared questions by interviewer which are supplemented by additional questions formed during the interview
• provide additional opportunities for interviewee to expand answers

Question 2

what happens if closed questions are used in a structures interview?

Answer 2

quantitative data is gained

Question 2

what data is an unstructured interview likely to produce?

Answer 2

qualitative data

Question 3

what are the strengths of using an unstructured interview method?

Answer 3

• rich detail
• can identify emerging themes for future research

Question 3

what is a structured interview?

Answer 3

• questions decided in advance
• may be “closed” (set responses e.g. agree/disagree) or “open” ( any response can be given)

Question 3

what are the strengths of using a structured interview method?

Answer 3

• less time consuming
• easy to analyse - more predictable answers
• easily repeated
• quicker to gather much more data

Question 4

what are the limitations of using a structured interview method?

Answer 4

• not rich in detail
• hard to compare if interviewer acts differently on different occasions - low reliability
• interviewers expectations may influence answers
• vulnerable to social desirability bias

Question 5

what are the limitations of using an unstructured interview method?

Answer 5

• time consuming
• difficult to analyse - large amount of results
• require more skills
• expensive to produce - hiring well trained interviewers
• in depth questions may lack objectivity then predetermined questions
• vulnerable to social desirability bias

Question 6

what is a survey/questionnaire?

Answer 6

asking a large sample of people on a specific topic at a specific point in time
- researcher must select representative sample if they want to make generalisations of their findings

Question 7

what are the different ways of designing questionnaires?

Answer 7

they can be open or close (like interviews)

Question 8

what is a pilot study?

Answer 8

• small, trial versions of proposed studies to test their effectiveness and make improvements
• helpful in identifying potential issues early

Question 9

what are the evaluation points of a structured interview?

Answer 9

• quick so gather more data
• easy to analyse
• different interviewer style might make comparison of results difficult

Question 10

what are the evaluation points of an unstructured interview?

Answer 10

• quality/rich data
• interviewer might “lead” interviewee (interviewer bias)
• must be skilled interviewer (costly)
• may be vulnerable to social desirability bias

Question 11

what are the different self report techniques?

Answer 11

questionnaires
interviews (structured/unstructured)